Pallets are commonly used to move cargo or other payloads in the transportation industry, using a variety of vehicles including aircraft, trucks, trains and vessels. In order to prevent shifting of cargo loads during transport, the pallets and/or the cargo on the pallets may be tied down to the floor of the vehicle using floor anchors. These floor anchors, which are often in the form of embedded tie-down rings, are normally arranged in a fixed pattern over the floor.
In the past, pallets have been provided with fixed tie-down mechanisms that are generally arranged in a pattern on the pallet that may align with the floor anchors of a vehicle. This arrangement, however, may limit the use of such pallets to those vehicles having floor anchors matching the layout of the tie-down mechanisms on the pallet. In some cases, only some of the tie-down mechanisms on a pallet may be used for a particular shipment. In this situation, the unused tie-down mechanisms may present obstructions to the movement of the pallets and/or cargo within the vehicle.
Accordingly, there is a need for a pallet having a tie-down system that may readily adapt the pallet for use with vehicles having differing patterns of floor anchors. There is also a need for a tie-down system that may be easily and quickly reconfigured, and which allows unused tie-down devices to be removed from the pallet and stowed.